Inter-state wildlife smuggling racket busted in Odisha, 7 held

Bhubaneswar: The forest department officials in Odisha have busted an inter-state wildlife smuggling racket in Gajapati district and arrested seven people of the gang.

The officials seized skins of five leopards, one fishing cat and one leopard cat along with a huge quantity of pangolin scales from their possession, the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF) Wildlife, Susanta Nanda, said in a post on X.

The forest officials are eying to arrest some other members of the gang, including the kingpin, he said.

The accused have been forwarded to court in Gajapati district, he said, adding that further investigation to establish forward and backward linkages is on.

The kingpin and all the poachers involved will be apprehended soon, the PCCF said.

Nanda also thanked all his staff who worked 24x7 to crack down on the gang.